SG Update 4/7

Amar Bhatt, vice president of Student Government, gave a presentation on the Governance Refresh which set out to clarify and enhance the organization of student governance. Structural changes include removing WITR, ACE, OCASA, Reporter and CAB from governance and placing them under various departments that better match their activities. The reorganization includes more Representative Student Organization members on the University Council in order to reinforce the diverse representation of students.

SG unanimously passed a resolution that would facilitate making RIT a Conflict-Free Campus and encourages the university to use its economic leverage in support of human rights. Conflict minerals are mined in conditions of armed conflicts and human rights abuse. These minerals include tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold which are used in many of our technological devices such as laptops, cell phones and cameras. The resolution suggests that RIT should do everything in its power to ensure that the university is not buying products from the Congo where miners are children, denied their human rights and treated like slaves.

The Sustainability Committee of SG has been charged with creating a socially responsible investment advisory committee that would, at the very least, start a conversation on ending RIT’s investment into fossil fuels. Universities have a large role in the survival of certain industries based on where they invest their tuition dollars. This committee would look into ways to ensure that RIT is investing in an economically and socially sustainable manner.

The newest PawPrints petition addressed by SG committees includes extending the drop period for classes, increasing the security of University Identification Numbers, “speaking for the trees” in reference to recent storms and the construction of the MAGIC Center.

Election results were announced at the end of the meeting and can be found here.